Keith’s Blog: Double-clutching as a Rite of Passage

Last Saturday was a glorious day for many reasons.

First, once a year, Alfa Romeo master-restorer Bill Gillham hosts The Old Super Tour.

Giulia Supers were the first mass-produced Alfa four-door sedans. They were built on the same chassis, and with similar drivetrain options, as the sporty GTV coupes and convertible Spiders. Ads proclaimed them as “The family car that wins races.”

Many of them today are modified and hot-rodded. The ex-SCM Super, now owned by subscriber Richard Lincoln, had a built 2-liter engine, bigger brakes and a high-speed rear end. I took it and my family on many lengthy trips and it was always a delight.

Bill’s Super, named Hooligan, has been similarly upgraded. He often drives it to Alfa club national conventions no matter where they are in the country.

There were about 10 Alfas on this year’s tour, all vintage. They included Bill’s Super, two Berlinas (the sedan that followed the Super,) a Sprint Speciale, a GTV and a 1956 Sprint “Abnomale.” The newest car was a tasty GTV-6.

There were no modern Stellantis-era Alfas.

Old car tours come in many flavors, from cars and coffee meetups, to 6-day 1,500-mile mega-tours.

The Old Super Tours are generally an overnight trip to the Oregon Coast on two-lane roads, with options for leaving after lunch or staying the night. (This year we ended up in Newport, with its many delicious seafood restaurants).

I’ve probably done 15 or so of these tours over the years. What made this tour special was that my son Bradley (now just a day away from turning 19) specifically asked if we could go with our ‘65 Giulia Spider Veloce, a car we have owned more than 40 years.

As all of you who are parents know well, having your child come home from college (100 miles away) specifically to drive on an old car event with you, is the best way to spend a day. It was the same way with my daughter Alexandra when she was this age. We did many trips to old car events, including some in this very same Veloce.

While sunny, it was chilly and we drove the 50 miles to the starting point with the top up. To my surprise, the puny little IPRA heater put out enough BTUs to warm the cabin.

When we got to the start, it was top-down and ready to go. Bradley’s mother has a Boxster S and a 2002 BMW tii, so he has had some practice driving a manual since he was last behind the wheel of the Alfa.

He drove well from the beginning, but with more authority as the day progressed. The Alfa comes alive around 5,000 rpm and he was in that range frequently. Then he asked, “Can I practice double-clutching?”

After a few hits and misses, he was able to rev the engine to match gearbox speeds. Shifts from 5^th to 4^th and 4^th to 3^rd were smooth and without grinds. If I could have issued him a degree in double-clutching I would have done it on the spot.

We were home by 4 p.m. that afternoon, sunburned and happy after another fun father-son adventure.

What length old car tours do you prefer? Meet for coffee and go home? Two hours to lunch and call it a day? Overnight? Multi-day long-distance events?

I look forward to reading your responses in the comments below.

Read my previous blog posts here.

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